


If The Mask Fits

by sugar_sweet_poison



Series: Sally Face x Fairy Tales [1]
Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Eventual Smut, Falling In Love, I don't know how to tag this, Larry's a soon-to-be-king, Light Angst, M/M, OC evil stepmother and sister, Romance, Sal's got a sad life, as you should know if you know cinderella, au: not stepbrothers, but it gets better, fairy tale, lisa's a retiring queen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:48:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26884651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugar_sweet_poison/pseuds/sugar_sweet_poison
Summary: Larry Johnson is the prince of the kingdom, Knockfell. After his father's death, Larry is now to become the king.But one rule keeps Larry from holding the crown: he must get married.Women from all over the kingdom throw themselves at his feet for a chance to become his queen. But Larry has no interest in taking the throne, let alone someone's hand in marriage.That is until he has his heart stolen by a blue-haired stranger at a masquerade, who disappears just before midnight.(Sally Face x Cinderella)
Relationships: Sal Fisher & Larry Johnson - Relationship, Sal Fisher/Larry Johnson
Series: Sally Face x Fairy Tales [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1961506
Comments: 24
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

The royal palace was in commotion. Servants and guests run amuck, excitedly chatting about the news.

The prince was going to be crowned king.

The streets of the kingdom were filled with people running from house-to-house to share the good news. 

The kingdom has been without a king for nearly a decade since the former king died. But now, the prince was of age and the queen was stepping down from her throne.

But the news didn’t stop there.

“The prince must marry before he can take the throne!” Maple shouts as she enters the bakery.

Todd and Neil both look up from the flour-covered counter in shock. “Really?” Todd asks, taken aback.

“Yes! And there’s going to be a masquerade at the palace, so the prince can find an eligible fiance!”

Women all over the kingdom find their most glamorous dresses and make the most extravagant masks for the party, hoping beyond hope to become a queen in one night.

But back at the palace, things are not going according to plan.

Staff is decorating the ballroom for the party when the prince storms in. “We aren’t having a party!”

Larry marches to a small round table and yanks the white cloth off and out of a maid’s hands. “I’m not doing this!”

Lisa rushes over to her son and grabs the tablecloth. “Larry, please! You’re making a scene!”

“I don’t care!” Larry pulls on the cloth and rips a tear in it and throws it down. 

Lisa runs her gloved hands down her face and picks up the ruined cloth. “Larry, I know you’re upset, but it’s the rules.”

“It’s a stupid rule!” Larry stomps his foot. “Why do I have to get married!? I don’t even want to be king!” Larry’s face turns red with frustration. 

“Larry,” Lisa grabs his shoulders to try and settle things. “I know how hard this has been for you, but the kingdom needs you.”

“Why me? I’ve never made a decision in my life that didn’t fuck me over later!”

Lisa looks around at the peering eyes of the palace staff. She takes Larry’s hands and drags him out to the hall. She turns to Larry and holds his hands. “You will be an amazing king, Larry! You always did everything your father did, and you remind me so much of him!” Lisa cups Larry’s face with one hand, “You need to give yourself more credit, Larbear.”

Larry rolls his eyes. “I’m not getting married.” He pulls away from his mother and walks down the hall, muttering to himself. “I’m not getting married…”

Lisa sighs in sadness. She knew how hard her husband’s death was for their son, and hates forcing this on him. But the kingdom needs him. “Please…” She closes her eyes and puts her hands together, praying. “Please, send someone amazing to the masquerade. Someone, loving, caring, sweet, and charismatic. Please, let Larry know he’s not alone...Please…”

  
  
  
  
  


A mansion estate sits on the very edge of the kingdom, and a woman walks through its halls.

A fist pounds on the door, abruptly awaking the young man inside. “Wake up!” A shrill voice screams from the other side.

Sal jumps up from his makeshift, cardboard box bed and gets a spider web to the face. He spits and wipes frantically at his face then dashes across the dusty attic floor. He swings the door open and runs through the halls of the luxurious mansion that once belonged to his family until Mary took over.

After the accident that took Sal’s mother and left him disfigured, his father, Henry, remarried a cruel, evil woman. Mary.

Mary and her daughters, Adelaide and Jennifer, moved to the family’s mansion. But now, Henry was gone. All that was left was a poor boy living under his stepmother’s hateful iron fist.

“Go wake up the girls!” Mary shouts from the stairs.

Sal removes a hair tie from his wrist and throws his hair up as he runs to the bedroom that was once his. He knocks on the door and yells to the girls inside. “It’s time to get up!” He opens the door and runs over to the two beds and the sleeping girls in them.

Sal forces Adelaide and Jennifer out of their beds

The twin girls stand up and rub the sleep from their eyes.

“It’s time to get up!” Sal repeats and drags the girls to two bathrooms. He runs baths for both of them then washes the attic dust and soot from his hands. He lays out two dresses for the girls then runs downstairs.

“Sal! Get in here!” Mary shrieks from the kitchen.

“I’m already coming!” Sal runs in and starts making breakfast. He fries eggs and sausages and toasts some bread. He sets plates on the dining room table and gets out jam for toast. All the while Mary did her make-up in the dining room.

“Get drinks for us,” Mary demanded.

“Yes, ma’am.” Sal goes back to the kitchen and fetches glasses and juice. It was apple juice, Sal’s favorite, though he wasn’t allowed to have some for himself. By the time Sal brought everything back to the table, Adelaide and Jennifer had sat down and helped themselves to food.

“Sally Face,” Adelaide calls him by the name they gave him to mock his disfigurations, “Put some strawberry jam on this,” She hands him the toast from her plate.

Sal takes the toast without a word and spreads jam on it.

“Oh, Maple stopped by!” Jennifer examines a piece of toasted bread. “And she brought pumpkin bread! It needs buttered.” She tosses the bread to Sal to butter.

“Oh, girls, incredible news!” Mary holds out her glass and Sal fills it with juice. “Maple shared something while delivering the bread!”

“What?” Jennifer asks with a mouthful of food.

“Queen Lisa is retiring the throne and Prince Lawrence is being crowned!” Mary claps her hands and both her daughters stare with wide eyes.

“That means he’s getting married!” Adelaide spews food on the tablecloth as she shouts.

“That means a party!” Jennifer spews more food out.

Sal looks away in disgust and starts to eat his own piece of toast.

“It’s a masquerade, which means you two will need ball gowns and masks.”

“I could dance with Lawrence?” Jennifer gazes off in amazement. “Mother, when is this masquerade!?”

“It’s this Saturday night.” Mary stands up, finished with her food. “That’s only three days away. Sal, you need to get started on their dresses.”

  
  


Sal rolls his eyes, but the ladies don’t see. “Yes, ma’am.” He hates making dresses for them. They’re all  _ very  _ picky with their clothes, but never tell Sal what they want. They only lock him in his attic/bedroom when they don’t like the dresses.

Mary and the girls go out to town to buy stuff for mask-making, leaving Sal to clean up. 

When he finishes cleaning, Sal goes to the backyard with the leftover sausages. “Gizmo!” He whistles and a large orange cat comes running from the bushes.

Gizmo was a gift from his family after his mother died. But since Mary took control of the estate, Gizmo was never allowed inside.

Gizmo eats a sausage from Sal’s hand and purrs. When the plate was empty, Sal stood up, needing to get started on the dresses, but Gizmo claws at his pants and meows.

Sal looks down at his cat and sighs, a tear threatening to spill from his eye. “I know, but I can’t play today.” Sal kneels down and scratches Gizmo’s ears. “I need to make the girls’ dresses for the party. The prince is getting married… Stupid prince.” All Sal wanted to do was spend time with his sweet cat, but he couldn’t go another day with no meal because he failed his chores.

Sal does end up crying as he washes the plate and sees Gizmo sulk back to the bushes through the kitchen window. “I’m sorry!” Sal tries to call after him. Gizmo is the only friend Sal has, as he’s rarely ever allowed to leave the estate.

Sal got to making the dresses, using a pair of old dresses for the base. He thinks he knows what to do with them to not get locked in the attic again. He goes through a chest of fabric to find another pattern for a dress when something catches his eye.

The fabric chest was almost empty and now he saw a familiar yellow pattern at the bottom.

In shock, Sal pulls it out to reveal his mother’s ballgown from when she met Sal’s father at a palace party. “Why is this there?” He whispers. Did the ladies think he would use the dress for scrap?

Sal quickly takes the dress up to his attic. It’s the only thing he has left from his mother…

When Mary and the girls get back, they want to make their masks themselves, giving Sal the rest of the day off… of costume making. He cleans the chimney, getting covered in soot. He waters the garden, that none of the ladies tend to. He feeds Mary’s horrid dog, Camile. He washes and sweeps every surface in the house, then goes back to the attic.

His body ached and his head was pounding. He lays down in his box and glances over at Diane’s ball gown… and gets an idea.

Sal runs to a bathroom and washes his hands, but doesn’t take a bath. He’s only allowed two baths a week and needs to save his last one for Saturday. He runs back to the attic and stops in his tracks at the sound of nails scratching the glass.

He cringes and looks to the side, and his face turns to excitement. “Gizmo!” He runs to the window where the cat was sitting in a tree. He opens the window, “You found out how to get up here!” The cot jumps into Sal’s arms and purrs happily. “Giz,” Sal whispers to the cat. Gizmo looks up with bright eyes. “ _ I’m going to the masquerade.” _

Sal places Gizmo in his bed and takes his mother’s ball gown. He puts it on a mannequin for styling dresses and gets to work.

He tightens the bust and torso to fit his body better and sews a pink ribbon around the waist. He makes a few tiny bows with pink ribbon and sews them to the side of the skirts. He pulls up sections of the skirt and sews it to the bows to show off the layers of the dress.

After making dinner, cleaning the kitchen, and setting out Adelaide and Jennifer’s nightgowns, Sal goes back to the attic to finish his gown. 

By the time he was happy and had a beautiful dress that still stayed true to his mother’s dress, it was almost midnight. 

The next day, after finishing the twins’ dresses and finishing his chores, Sal goes through a chest in the attic until he finds what he’s looking for. A white mask with a pink section over the left eye. Ironically, Sal is blind in his left eye.

He finds his old paint set and carefully paints pastel flowers on the white of the mask. He decorates the mouth of the mask to look like a cat’s mouth and uses fabric and ribbon to make ears at the top. He uses more ribbons to make more decorations.

Sal straps the mask over his scarred face and looks into the broken mirror in the corner of the attic. The mask looks better than he thought it would, but it’s still not as great as his stepsisters’ were.

Sal goes to his bed and models the mask for Gizmo. “What do you think?”

The cat meows and sniffs Sal’s mask.

“I’m going to the masquerade~.” Sal mews like a cat and makes a scratching motion with his hand. “I’ll sneak out when they leave. It’ll be the first time in forever I’ll have some fun.” Sal laughs and scratches Gizmo’s ears.

Little does he know of the woman just beyond his door, listening to his every word.

  
  
  
  
  


A servant tries with all her might to run a brush through Larry’s unruly hair to get him ready for a meeting. “It’s not worth it!” Larry finally snaps. “I’m sorry, I just-... Just leave.” He points to the door and the servant quickly runs away.

Larry storms over to his bed and flops down, groaning into a pillow. “This sucks!” He rolls over to his back and stares at the ceiling. “I don’t want to be a king… I don’t want to be married to someone I barely even know!” Larry groans and punches at the bed. “I hate this!”

Someone knocks on the door.

“What!?” Larry rudely answers.

The door creaks open and a scared, purple-haired little girl pokes into the room.

Larry stands up from the bed when he sees the girl. “I’m sorry.” He slowly approaches the girl. “Hi.” He waves his hand.

The little girl tugs on the sleeves of her brown dress. “Can you help me? I-I can’t find my mommy.”

Larry kneels in front of the girl. “You can’t find your mom?”

“No. She’s helping decorate for the prince’s party, but I lost her.”

“Okay.” Larry stands up and offers his hand to the girl. “I know where most people are decorating. I’ll help you find your mom.” He smiles sweetly at the girl.

The girl hesitates to take Larry’s hand but takes it. 

“The palace is huge, I know. I used to lose my parents all the time when I was little. What’s your name, honey?” Larry leads the girl out of the room.

“My name is Megan.” She almost whispers. “You came to the palace a lot when you were little?”

Larry chooses his next word carefully as he walks Megan down the hall. “Yeah, you know, they used to have a lot of public parties before the king passed away.” Larry turns the corner with Megan. “Although, you seem to be handling this a lot better than I did when I lost my mom. Asking for help and all.”

  
  


“Really? What did you do when you lost your mommy?”

“Cried until another servant found me.”

Megan laughs and looks up at Larry with bright, purple eyes. “No, you didn’t!” She doubts him.

“No, it’s true! I was really little and couldn’t even find a servant to help me, so I just started bawling!”

Larry leads Megan to the ballroom, where he knew the most decorating was happening. He enters the beautifully decorated room and is almost crashed into by a purple-haired woman. “Megan!”

Megan’s mother lifts her off the ground. “Oh, my god, where did you go!?”

“She’s all right. “ Larry tries to calm the woman down.

The woman glances up at Larry then does a double-take. “O-oh… Oh… Your Highness, I didn’t realize that was you.” She bows to Larry quickly. Larry cringes slightly but forces a grin.

Megan’s eyes widen and she looks up at Larry. “That’s the prince?” 

Her mother puts a hand over Megan’s mouth. “Thank you for bringing her here, Your Highness.”

Larry waves them off and starts walking away. “It’s no problem. Bye, Megan.”

“Bye!” Megan waves happily.

Larry walks through the halls of the palace, dreading this meeting he must attend. He must discuss “social issues” and “providing money to small businesses”. He used to like going to these meetings and helping his father.

Watching his father rule the kingdom left Larry excited to be the king one day. But now, it’s leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

He should be taking the throne because his parents stepped down together, not because his father was dead and his mother couldn’t handle it on her own anymore.

Whatever happens at the masquerade tomorrow, Larry feels he won’t be finding the one person to love for the rest of his life that night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preparation for the masquerade.

The kingdom is in a buzz for the masquerade. Not only will it be the first public party at the palace in almost a decade, but the prince will also choose his fiance tonight.

“Come along, girls!” Mary calls from the patio outside, and Adelaide and Jennifer strut out in their gowns.

Sal had made the girls beautiful dresses. He had also spent a good hour doing their hair and make-up as best as possible, quickly wanting them out of the house.

“Oh, you two look so beautiful!” Mary hands her daughters their masks. “The prince will love you, girls! I just know that one of you will steal a royal heart tonight!” Mary ushers the girls down the patio. “Come on, come on! We don’t want to be late!”

Adelaide and Jennifer look at each other in confusion. “The party doesn’t start for another-,”

“SHH!”

Inside, Sal watches from the attic window as the women turn the corner and disappear. He runs to his bed, his mother’s dress sweeping across the floor as he runs, and grabs his mask. He had also found an old pair of his mother’s white heels in the basement and slipped them on.

Sal pats Gizmo’s head. “See you later, Giz!” He runs downstairs to the front door.

Sal opens the double doors and peeks his head out. No signs of any carriages or people walking by. Everyone he could see was already on their way to the palace.

Sal takes a deep breath and steps out. He straps his homemade cat mask to his scarred face and carefully walks down the stairs, not used to heels. His nerves build up more and more the further he gets from the house. “ **_I’m actually doing this._ ** _ ” _ He thinks to himself.  **_“I’m actually going to the masquerade!”_ ** He turns the corner behind and bush, seeing the palace just on the horizon-,

“And what do we have here?”

Mary’s voice makes Sal jump out of his skin. He spins around and almost falls back to see Mary and the twins still there. “Uh-, uh… I- uh-,” Sal stutters, trying to find any words.

Mary crosses her arms over her chest and has a wicked look on her face. “Where do you think you’re going dressed like,” She looks Sal up and down with disgust. “ _ That.” _

Adelaide and Jennifer both snicker to themselves at Sal’s misfortune.

Despite his shaky hands, Sal crosses his arms to mimic Mary. “I’m going to the masquerade.”

  
  


Mary stares at Sal for a moment then bursts out laughing. “Really?  _ You  _ are going to the masquerade?”

“It’s a public party!” Sal huffs and he feels weak in his knees. He’s never stood up to Mary before. “The whole kingdom is invited. I can go if I want to go, and you can’t stop me!” He’s pretty sure he’s about to faint.

But Mary nods. Her face is neutral, showing no signs of wanting to argue. But the glint in her eye when she sees Sal’s hair, carefully done up in two pigtails with his bangs clipped back, is pure evil. “All right. I guess I can’t stop… But that is a very fine clip in your hair.” Venom drips from the last words.

Sal’s heart stops and a hand shoots up to the gold, flowery clip in his hair. He had forgotten he was wearing it. He stole it from Adelaide and Jennifer’s room.

“Isn’t it a nice clip, girls?” Mary smiles sweetly to her daughters.

Adelaide and Jennifer’s faces had turned sour when they thought their mother was letting Sal go. But now, Jennifer’s face turns red with rage as she sees the clip in Sal’s hair. “No! That’s MINE!” She marches over to Sal, who quickly backs away.

Sal tries to unclip the beret, but it gets tangled and stuck in his bangs. “You can have it back-!”

Jennifer grabs Sal and rips out the clip with a few blue hairs.

“Wait a minute!” Adelaide runs up to Jennifer’s side. “That’s mine!” She reaches for Sal’s neck and yanks off a pearl necklace.

“NO!” Sal screams. “It’s not yours!” But his mother’s necklace breaks, and the pearls scattered on the rocks. The necklace was a gift to Diane from Henry when she had given birth to Sal.

Mary covers a laugh and fastens her fox mask to her face. “And where did you find those beautiful ribbons, Sal?”

Before he can say anything, the ribbon sewed around the waist of his dress is tugged on. “Those are for  _ our  _ dresses!” Jennifer and Adelaide both yank on the pink ribbons until they rip from the dress.

“STOP! STOP! STOP!” Sal tries to fight the girls off, but they easily overpower him.

Someone rips his mask off and Sal hears a  **_crack_ ** as it hits the pavement.

“This is mine!” His bracelet is ripped off.

“This is mine!” Another clip is ripped from his hair.

He’s pushed to the ground. His dress is torn again and again. His mask is stepped on. His shoes fall off and are thrown to the bushes.

“Okay, okay! Enough, girls!” Mary calls the girls off, but can barely contain her laughter. “We don’t want to be late, now do we?”

Adelaide and Jennifer both look up at their mother. They’re still red-faced with anger but they follow Mary anyway. “Yes, mother.” They both clean up their acts and follow their mother to their carriage. 

Mary takes the reins of the horses and drives them off, leaving Sal behind.

Sal’s dress is shredded beyond fix. His mask is shattered, his hair is in disarray. He is covered in dirt and mud, and he’s battered and bruised.

He sniffs and his lip quivers. He tries to stop the tears that want to spill from his eyes. He wobbles as he stands up and sticks and rocks poke harshly at his feet, ripping holes in his socks.

He feels liquid drip down the side of his face. He wipes it away and pulls his hand back to see it painted with crimson blood. 

The tears spill down Sal’s face quickly and he throws his hands over his mouth to stop the scream. He runs to the back garden and sits at a small, round table. He lays his face on the table and cries. 

Why? Why him? Why did Sal have to lose everything? He lost his mother in a horrible accident. His father remarried the evilest woman possible, with the evilest daughters possible. Then he drowned out all of his own sorrows in alcohol until he was found in the forest, having drunk himself to death…

Sal has no family. His only companion is his cat, who he’s sure he would lose if Mary found him in the house.

Not a day has gone by where Sal hasn’t hurt from misses his parents. It hurts so much…

Sal can almost feel his heart crack, wishing for nothing more than to have been lost with his mother that day, instead of the maiming of his face…

  
  
  
  
  


Larry had managed to run a brush through his hair a few times, taming it down a little bit, but gave up without even really trying.

He was wearing black dress pants and a white shirt. His black tuxedo jacket was hanging off the back of a chair.

Larry examines his face in the mirror: Dark circles around his eyes that the make-up he has barely hides.

Larry sighs and flops down on his bed. He hides his head under the pillow for several minutes until someone knocks on the door.

“What?”

“Your Highness, you must come downstairs in ten minutes. Are you dressed?”

Larry gets up and groans. He throws on his jacket and goes to open the door. He opens it to the short, chubby, green-haired cook whom Larry rarely sees out of the kitchen. “Are you ready, Your Highness?”

Larry rubs at his eyes and starts to walk with the cook. “You don’t have to call me that, Chug.”

Chug snorts to himself and pats Larry’s shoulder. “Larry.” He says.

For Larry, Chug was a breath of fresh air in the palace. Because of their close age, the two got along well since childhood. Chug is also the only servant in the palace who knows Larry has hated being referred to as “Your Highness” ever since his father died.

Chug knew Larry always wanted to take his father’s place as a child but after the king’s death, while Larry was only 12-years-old, all the responsibilities were dropped on him far too young.

Chug stops Larry in the middle of the hallway and turns him to face him.

“What?”

He undoes the top buttons of Larry’s white shirt, Larry having done them lopsided. “Did you sleep at all last night?” Chug sounds concerned.

Larry shakes his head. “I don’t want to do this, Chug…”

Chug finishes fixing Larry’s shirt and readjusts his jacket. “I know. You think it’s bullshit, and I agree.” He pats Larry’s shoulder, “But Maple thinks this will turn out fine for you.”

Larry smirks at his friend. “Is Maple here?” He knew Chug was smitten by the girl who did the deliveries for the bakery.

Chug cheeks turn a slight shade of pink. “Yes, but I’m working tonight.”

“No, you’re not.” Larry’s smirk turns into a smile. “You’re off for the rest of the night. Go dance with a pretty girl.” Larry grabs Chug’s arm and drags him down the hallway.

“Larry, no!”

  
  
  
  
  


“Hello?”

Sal chokes back a sob and bolts up-right. He turns to the garden entrance. “Hello?” His voice shakes.

A woman is standing at the entrance with Sal’s broken mask in her hands. The woman has messy, ratty brown hair that reaches her hips. She’s wearing a torn and stained grey dress and muddy socks with no shoes. She takes one step through the entrance and holds up the mask. “I found this on the rocks over there… Are you bleeding?” She walks over and Sal hides his face.

“That’s my mask. Just leave it…” He can’t seem to stop his shaking voice.

Silence fills the air for a few moments. Then, “I remember you.”

Sal turns back around with his hands covering his face. He uncovers his eye and sees a smile full of yellowed teeth.

“We went to school together. Everyone remembers Sal Fisher. The boy who got his face attacked.” She sets the broken mask on the table. Despite her filthy appearance, the woman has the brightest, kindest eyes that Sal has seen in years. Her yellow smile is filled with an almost familiar friendliness as she outstretches a hand, caked with dirt, to Sal. “I’m Ashley.”

Sal removes his hands from his face. He takes Ashley’s hand without hesitation, used to the filth from living in the attic, and shakes it. “It’s nice to meet you at… Though you’re not catching me on my best day…” Sal forces a laugh to keep from crying again.

Ashley, however, does laugh and sits down across from Sal at the table. “I know. That’s why I’m here.”

Sal wipes a tear from his eye and looks up at Ashley in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well, for now, I think you just need a friend.” Ashley smiles and throws her hands up. “So I will be a friend!”

Sal really doesn’t have friends. He hasn’t been allowed out of the mansion in too long. “Okay… But, what do you mean you know?”

Ashley sighs and leans her elbows on the tables, resting her chin in her filthy hands. “Well, I know a lot of things, like most of the kingdom. When your family is as wealthy as the Fishers, people tend to hear about the family’s life quite quickly.” Ashley folds her hands and leans on her fingers.

“For instance, I know you lost your mother. Your father remarried, and you have two stepsisters. That’s just common knowledge.” Ashley smiles and winks at Sal.

Sal folds his hands in his lap. “But what about you know that my day was shit?”

“Well, unlike most people in the kingdom, I know that Mary Mattias is a cruel bitch and so are her daughters,” Ashley speaks quietly and sweetly.

Sal sniffs again, trying to fight back the urge to cry again.

Ashley reaches out a hand for Sal, and he gladly takes it. Ashley uses her other hand to caress Sal’s. “You were going to the palace, were you?”

Sal nods his head, unable to speak without breaking.

“And they destroyed your dress, did they?”

He nods again.

Ashley holds Sal’s hand for a moment longer and gently sets it down. She stands up and walks over to the fountain in the center of the garden, with a large, stone angel statue on top. “And that’s why I’m here!” Ashley gazes up at the statue with her back turned to Sal.

Sal gets up from the table and watches Ashley closely.

“I’ve always known Sal Fisher as the sweetest, most genuine boy in school!” She waves her arms around as she speaks “He could make friends with almost anyone if he wanted to! Even with a scarred face, as the world seems to be against him, he still found ways to help people.”

Ashley turns around to face Sal. “I had always believed him to be the greatest man in the whole kingdom!” She smiles brightly and starts to hike up her skirt slightly.

“I’m sorry, but what are you getting at?” Sal walks slowly to the ratty woman.

Ashley pulls up her skirt to show a garter wrapped around her thigh. From the garter, she extracts a small, silver stick about the size of her finger. “I’m here to help you, Sal Fisher.” She flicks her wrists and a burst of sparkles shoot from the stick.

Sal throws his arms over his face to protect himself from the blast. When he lowers them and looks back at Ashley, the stick is the length of her arm. “Wait, how did you do that!?” Sal walks up closer.

Ashley laughs and smiles happily. “Just something I learned after school.”

“But… But, how did you-?”

“Enough about me.” Ashley waves Sal off. “Let’s get to you. You have a masquerade to attend~.” Ashley waves Sal away to get him to take a step back.

Sal steps back, and Ashley raises the stick high above her head.

She waves it in circles and glittering sparkles erupt from the tip and fall around Ashley. 

Sal can barely see through the light as it encases Ashley’s entire body in sparkes. When the sparkes finally subsided, Sal was left with an unrecognizable woman before.

Long, silky smooth brown hair reaches her hips, with most pinned up in silver clips. Her hair was filled with purple flowers, seemingly attached to nothing. 

Her once dirty skin is glowing, and her hands, once caked with dirt, were clad in silk black gloves. 

The dirty grey dress was gone, and instead, there was a beautiful purple gown. The skirt buffs around her body and the torso tighten up with a black corset. 

Ashley smiles brightly, her once yellow teeth a glimmering white and her lips painted black. The only thing still the same was her bright green eyes, highlighted with purple and silver eyeshadow. 

Sal stares at her in stunned silence. He can’t speak nor move. 

“All right, now,” Ashley steps over to Sal. “ _ It’s your turn~.” _ She walks in circles around Sal, poking and pulling at the ruined dress. She gets back to his front and scratches her chin. “What would look good for a masquerade?” She tilts Sal’s chin up with the tip of her wand to examine him.

“Why?” Was the only word Sal could get out.

“Why what?”

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

Ashley stares at Sal in shock for a few seconds, then laughs. “Oh, dear… Think of this as a ‘Thank you’, for letting know that, no matter how bad things may seem, there are still good people like Sal Fisher in the world.”

Sal folds his hands together. He never thought he was that amazing, but he wasn’t about to doubt the person doing magic in his very garden.

“Now,” She waves the wand over Sal’s head. “I like the pink and yellow you have going on, but I think blue suits you better. Don’t you think?” She twirls a strand of Sal’s blue hair with her finger.

Sal shrugs his shoulders. “I like blue, I guess?”

“No ‘I guess’.” Ashley points her wand to Sal’s face. “You must love how you look. No ‘I guess’.” Ashley’s black lips tighten and her eyebrows knit together. “How about…” She waves her wand over Sal’s head again, this time raining sparkling light down on him.

Sal feels the weight of his dress change. He looks down, trying to see it, but all he sees is a bright light. He tries spinning around, and the light slowly fades away.

When the light fades, Sal is stunned into silence again.

A blue ball gown glimmers with sparkles in the skirt. Silk sleeves hang off Sal’s shoulders and white gloves reach up to his elbows. To his surprise, his mother’s pearl necklace hangs from his neck.

Sal turns to very proud Ashley with wide eyes.

“I must say: Might be my best work yet!”

Sal runs to the corner of the garden, where Mary left a mirror by the house. He looks into it and sees a half-up half-down hairstyle, similar to Ashley’s. His bangs were braided to the side of his head, and the braid was filled with white flowers.

He turns back to Ashley and finds her back at the table.

She waves her wand around the mask, and it pieces together. Only now, it’s better than before. A pink and white cat mask with blue ribbons tied around the ears.

Ashley picks it up and struts over to Sal, handing it to him. “We’re almost set- Oof!”

Sal jumps at Ashley and grabs her in a hug. He feels like he could cry again, but not from sadness. “Thank you…”

Ashley rubs Sal’s back softly. “Thank you for being you, Sal.” She holds Sal at arm’s length and examines him. “You’re ready, but there are a few more things…” She walks off through the garden, looking for something.

Sal looks down at his dress again. If this is a dream, he hopes he doesn’t wake up. He lifts up his skirt slightly and finds lacy socks and white heels strapped on.

“Perfect!” 

Sal looks out to the garden and sees a pumpkin levitating in the air next to Ashley. Ashley hikes up her skirt and steps out of the garden with the pumpkin floating next to her. “Come on, Sal!” She calls back as she leaves through the garden entrance.

Sal hurriedly runs after her.

Ashley sets the pumpkin down by the road and stands back with Sal. “No, we’ll need something else… Oh!” She turns back to Sal, “Where’s your cat?”

“Why?”

Ashley doesn’t say anything but waves her wand to the double front door. 

The doors swing open, and Gizmo comes running out. “There he is! Don’t worry, Sal, everything will be just fine.”

Gizmo goes under Sal’s dress and rubs against his legs. He runs out and goes to the pumpkin.

Ashley waves her wand again, and Sal watches the sparkes encase Gizmo and the pumpkin. 

“Wait-!”

Before Sal can say anything, the sparks fade. A large, silver, and gold carriage, vaguely shaped like a pumpkin, stands before them. It is pulled by a ginger horse with light orange stripes lining its ribcage, just like Sal’s cat.

“GIZMO!?”

“Don’t worry!” Ashley tries to calm him. “He’ll turn back into a cat, and you will return to normal, too… That’s the catch.” Ashley sucks air through her teeth and taps her wand to her temple.

Sal looks at her in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Ashley looks to the side nervously. “This spell… Will wear off at midnight.” Ashley walks to the other side of the carriage and Sal follows. She looks out to the clock tower in the near distance. “It’s six-thirty…” She looks to Sal, “You must return home before midnight, ‘cause the spell will wear off. Your dress will be gone, your cat will return to normal, and this,” She knocks on the carriage. “Will be a pumpkin.”

Sal takes a deep breath and looks out to the clock tower. “Okay… Okay. I can be back before midnight. It won’t be hard!” Sal hops in place and his arms lock up. “I’m going to the masquerade!”

“You’re going to the masquerade!” Ashley opens the carriage door and helps Sal inside. 

Sal sits on the blue velvet seats and Ashley pokes her head through the window.

“Enjoy yourself tonight! But remember: The spell fades at midnight!”

“I’ll remember.” Sal smiles and straps his mask on. “Thank you, Ashley.”

“You’re welcome, Sal. Now, go!” Ashley sends sparks from her wand, and Gizmo the Horse pulls the carriage down the street.

Sal waves back to Ashley as the carriage fades into the crowds.

People in masquerade wear walk the streets, all going the same direction. Horses pull carriages along, all on their way to the palace.

For the first time in years, Sal was getting his wishes granted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fairy Godmother Ashley is a concept I love, I'm sorry.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sal meets a stranger at the masquerade.

The ballroom is filled with colorful lights, tables covered in exquisite foods and drinks. People in fine clothes and masks dance about the ballroom having joyous fun.

Larry sits at the top of the grand staircase, watching the people. People that he is destined to rule by the end of the month…

Already dozens of women have been presented to Larry, but all their faces disappeared back to the crowd when Larry should disinterest. He doesn’t want the crowd to think of him as some sort of a jerk, but he just isn’t interested.

Larry sighs and stands up. He descends the staircase and fixes a crow mask on his face. He goes to a long table with cakes and pastries, courtesy of the Kingdom bakery.

Said two bakers were speaking with Chug at one end of the table.

Chug shovels a miniature cake into his mouth while Todd and Neil talk about how Maple has been.

Larry picks up a cake with blue frosting on it. He’s not hungry, just bored and doesn’t want to meet any more people. 

Larry spends the next few minutes roaming the tables, sampling foods, and drinks so that no one would approach him. “Great party.” He speaks bitterly.

He gets to a small, round table with glasses of wine. The first time Larry tried wine, he was 8-years-old. His father has snuck his glass of red wine under the table for him to sip. It was disgusting.

After that, Larry was sure he hated the drink. Until the day he was offered white wine.

Larry removes his crow mask and picks up a glass of white. He chugs it back, draining the glass in seconds. He grabs another glass and sips on it more carefully. “Maybe if I get drunk enough, mom will let me leave…”

  
  
  
  
  


Carriages line up in front of the palace. People in colorful outfits and masks go up to the palace while their carriages are taken care of by staff.

The butler that was helping people watches an orange horse pull a grand, blue carriage up. The carriage comes to a stop, and he opens the door to a person with a gown and hair the same color as the carriage, wearing a cat mask. “Good evening!” He holds his hand out for assistance.

Sal nervously hesitates but takes the butler’s hand. He steps out of his carriage and onto the stone path.

“Your carriage will be taken care of. Please, enjoy the masquerade!”

Sal struggles with finding words, so he only waves to the butler as another staff member leads Gizmo to a horse stable. Sal’s heels clink as he walks down the stone path to the palace.

Only once in Sal’s childhood did he ever go to a public palace party. It was during daylight, but the nighttime made the lights of the palace look so much more beautiful. 

Sal ascends the stairs to the grand doors.

Two guards stand in front of the entrance. “Stop.” One of them raises a hand to Sal.

Sal had already frozen in his tracks before the guard even spoke.

“Remove your mask.”

Sal hesitates, then slowly lifts his mask to reveal his scarred and maimed face.

The guards look at him closely, then stand aside. “Name?”

“Sal Fisher.” Sal stops for a second. Would people at the party know who he is? Is Mary going to find out he’s here?”

“Welcome, Sal Fisher.” They open the doors to the bright colored palace.

Sal puts his mask back down and stares up in awe. He steps inside and the doors close behind him. 

The chandeliers hang from the high ceiling and are decorated with streamers. People walk amongst the halls, talking and laughing.

Sal nervously walks down the halls, keeping an eye out for Mary and the twins. He’s not going to have any fun tonight if he keeps looking over his shoulder in fear.

“Oh, your dress is so pretty!” 

Sal gets startled when a little girl dressed as an angel runs in front of him. 

“And your mask is so cute!”

“Um… Thank you.”

“Megan!” A purple-haired woman comes running to the little girl. She grabs the girl’s hand and looks at Sal through a wolf mask. “I’m sorry, she loves the color blue more than anything.”

Sal laughs, trying to calm down. “No, no, it’s fine.” Sal leans down to the girl’s height. “But your dress is very pretty, too.”

“Thank you!” Megan jumps up. “My mommy made it for me!”

Sal hears a laugh from down the hallway that makes him jump out of his skin. He looks up and sees Jennifer and Adelaide coming his way, but not looking at him.

“Well, I better get going-,”

“Are you going to the ballroom?” Megan asks.

Sal watches the twins get closer and breaks out in a sweat. “Uh, yes! But I’m not too sure where it is.”

“Oh, we’ll show you.” Megan’s mother gestures for Sal to follow her. To Sal’s relief, they go in the opposite direction of the girls.

The woman leads Sal to a golden archway with large white doors. She opens them to the beautifully decorated ballroom, where people are dancing the night away.

Sal is now sure that everything in the palace is going to shock him tonight. Megan and her mother go about themselves, leaving Sal in stunned silence once again.

Sal walks alongside a table of fruity treats. He picks up what looks like a plain cracker with apple jelly, but when he eats it, it’s one of the most delicious things he’s ever tasted. Sal goes along more tables, having not a pleasant meal in years.

Sal gets to a table with shot glasses of rainbow-colored drinks. He picks a green drink and smells it, getting the scent of watermelon. He takes a sip, and it tastes like watermelon… Then a sour apple. 

Sal smacks his lips then chooses a yellow shot. It tastes like lemon at first, then changes to banana. “This is so cool!”

“Good!”

Sal jumps again as a chubby, green-haired man wearing a palace staff uniform grabs a red shot glass. “It took us a week to get these right.” He drinks the red liquid back. “You’re drinking science there, too.”

“Science?” Sal picks a blue shot.

“It’s some sort of science-y stuff that gets them to change flavor rather than mix.” The green-haired man shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t get it, to be honest.”

Sal throws back his blue drink. It starts as blueberry, then changes to sour blue raspberry. “This is fun!”

“Hey, Chug!”

Sal spins around at a familiar voice.

Maple’s black ball gown sweeps the floor as she walks to Chug. The black feathers that frame her shoulders are slightly ruffled from dancing. She lifts her raven mask and looks at Chug. “You wanna come dance with me~?”

Chug’s face turns bright red. “Uh- uh- What?”

Sal quickly runs away, not wanting to be recognized what-so-ever. But in his hurry to get away, he runs straight through the dance floor.

He gets bumped and shoved with people’s shouts going from, “Move it!” to “You look amazing!”

Sal ends up in a clearing with no dancers, but still, no way to get out of the floor. Sal spins on the spot, trying to find an exit, but to no avail. Though, he doesn’t quite stop spinning.

Sal finds a rhythm with the music and twirls with his arms outstretched. He stops and kicks up his skirt, swaying it delicately with the music. It feels like no one else is there, though he knows  _ someone  _ has to be watching him now.

He twirls again, fast enough to make his skirt fly around. He grabs the edge of his skirt with one hand, and the other held delicately to his side. Walks along the wall of dancers, his footsteps keeping in time with the beats of the music.

Someone cheers and others turn to see what was going on. Soon, multiple eyes were on Sal.

Sal could feel his anxiety start to rise, but he can’t get nervous now. He stops and holds his hand out to a woman in an all-pink costume.

The pink lady takes Sal’s hand, and he pulls her to the open floor.

Sal hasn’t danced in years, but he still knows how.

  
  
  
  
  


Larry has his back pressed against a pillar, facing away from the party. He begins to hear cheers and pokes his head around the corner. He sees people gathering in a circle on the dance floor. “What the hell?” He fastens his crow mask back down and goes to investigate. This is the first interesting thing to happen all night.

  
  
  
  
  


Sal swings the pink lady around, dipping her, spinning her, and earning, “Whoa!” “Oh, my God!” The whole way. They twirl around one final time then Sal lands the lady back on her feet.

The pink lady holds onto Sal’s shoulders as he leads her back to the crowd, sending her back to her giggling friends.

Sal holds out his hand to another random person, a man in a black suit with a devil mask.

The man takes Sal’s hand and leads them to the floor. This time, it’s Sal who gets spun around.

Sal’s feet leave the floor as the devil man swings him up, spinning them around. Sal is dipped and his feet stick up high above the devil man’s head. He’s set back on the ground the devil man returns to the crowd.

The people cheer and push to the front, wanting to dance with Sal…

People want to dance with Sal.

Sal scans the crowd until his eye lands on someone further in the back. Sal runs into the crowd and people split to give him space.

Sal gets to a tall man in a black suit with a crow mask. His long brown hair is tangled, almost like Ashley’s when she first showed up in Sal’s garden. The man was watching Sal in fascination, and now Sal feels he  _ must  _ dance with him.

Sal holds his hand out again, but the man shakes his head slightly and steps back. “Don’t be shy!” Sal gets a little too excited and grabs the man’s hand.

He places a hand on the man’s back, almost getting his fingers caught in the tangled hair. He presses his body to his and pushes him back. He whispers to the man, “The trick is to pretend that this  _ isn’t  _ a party for a prince.” Sal winks up through his mask.

Larry is taken aback. At first from the deep voice of who he thought was a woman, then by the words.  _ He doesn’t know that Larry is the prince. _

Sal leads the crow back and forth in a step-by-step dance to the music. 

Larry places a hand on the cat’s lower back and one on his waist. He looks down at a pair of mismatched eyes. One sky blue, and the other looking to be filled with fog.

Sal is suddenly lifted from the ground, carried bridal style, and spun around in the crow’s arms. People cheer, but Sal can’t hear them anymore. When they stop spinning, and Sal is still being held in those strong arms, he gets caught in a pair of honey-brown eyes.

“Now those eyes are too pretty to be hidden under a mask.” The words left Sal’s mouth before he could process the thought. 

Humiliation begins rising in Sal, and he expects the worst when his feet touch the ground. But he’s pulled away again, deeper into the dance floor.

Larry was shocked into silence. This person truly doesn’t know who he is, but they said  _ that  _ to him? He… He was flattered.

Larry leads them back to the center, and people gather around. Not for Larry, but for the blue cat. 

Larry grabs the cat’s waist and sways them back and forth, then lifts them and swings the cat around.

Sal grabs onto the crow’s shoulders to keep balance as his dress sways around his feet. He’s set back on the ground and the crow dips him near the floor. Sal raises a hand and places it on the crow’s chest as he’s held in that position.

The crowd screams with cheers and hollers for Sal. “Cat! Cat! Cat!”

Larry’s locked on the mismatched eyes. “Same to you… Your eyes are too pretty to be hidden…”

A deep, husky voice makes Sal’s heart stop. The crow lifts him back to his feet. Sal folds his hands together, panting and watching the crow closely.

“Can I…” Larry holds his hand out to the cat. “Can I get you a drink?”

Sal nods slowly and takes the crow’s hand. “A drink would be nice.”

The crowd separates, some disappointed that the cat was leaving, while some were excited to dance again.

Larry leads them to the restocked wine table, needing another glass himself. He grabs a glass of white wine and gestures to the table. “White or red?”

Sal hugs his arms and looks over the table. He doesn’t drink wine… He’s afraid of alcohol all together ever since his dad was found in the woods… “Um,” 

“Or, would you like something non-alcoholic?” Larry takes the cat’s silence as an answer and goes to the next table with a bowl of pink drink. “I don’t know what this is, but I know it’s non-alcoholic!” 

Sal was going to pour himself a drink until the crow hands his wine glass for Sal to hold. Sal watches the crow pour a glass of the pink drink then switches it with his wine in Sal’s hand. “Um- uh… Uh, thank you…”

Larry raises an eyebrow under his mask. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m just… not used to people serving me…” Sal lifts his mask slightly and sips on his drink. It’s an odd taste. Some sort of tea rather than juice, and it smells like roses.

Larry laughs. “Ah, I see. So, what’s your name?”

Sal sips on his drink, nervous to answer… But why? He was having the best night of his life, and he definitely wants to see this crow again. “Sa-,”

“Addy, get over here!” 

Sal chokes on his drink at Mary’s shrill voice.

Larry sets his wine glass down and pats the cat’s back, startled by his choking. “Are you okay!?”

“Over here, Addy!”

Sal quickly spots Mary with her back turned to them. She has Jennifer at her side and Adelaide running to them. They’re close.

“Come on!” Jennifer yells at her sister. “You’re so slow!”

Sal looks up to the crow and sees his attention is now turned to the three women. He can feel the annoyance radiating from him at the shrieking voices. Sal slips away from his hands and ducks under the wine table.

Larry looks down at the feeling of lost pressure under his hand. “Hey!” He looks around for the cat but doesn’t see him anywhere.

Sal sneaks away, crawling under the tables just before the crow looks under the wine table. Sal crawls under the tables until he reaches a door leading out of the ballroom. He gets out and darts down the hallways until he finds a restroom. He rips his mask off and throws up into a toilet.

His disappointment and sadness are beyond anything he’s felt in a long time. Even without knowing it, Mary was always finding ways to ruin Sal’s life…

  
  
  
  
  


Larry looks under the tables to find the cat, but he’s nowhere to be seen. “Fuck…” He is about to run and find him, but that annoying voice from before catches him.

“Your Highness!” The woman in a tight red dress, holding a fox mask and flanked by two girls approaches Larry. “Your Highness, hello!” Her grey hair is pulled into such a tight bun that it pulls the skin of her face back.

“Hi.” Larry can’t turn away from them, even though he knows what’s about to happen.

The woman and girls bow to Larry. “Your Highness, my name is Mary Mattias.” She shoves the two girls in front of her. “And these are my daughters! Jennifer and Adelaide Mattias.”

Jennifer and Adelaide both had their ginger hair pulled into buns that were just as tight as their mother’s. They held their masks to their sides, “Your Highness.” They say in unison.

Larry takes off his crow mask and waves to the girls. “Hello, ladies. Look, I’m actually busy right now-,”

“This will only take a minute.” Mary blocks Larry from leaving. “I know you must choose a fiance tonight, correct?”

“Not tonight. Just some time soon-,”

“Well, I know that you will find one of my daughters to be a perfect match for you!” Mary pats her daughters’ shoulders.

Jennifer and Adelaide both smile brightly and bow to Larry again.

“They are talented, intelligent, well-mannered, and funny girls-”

Larry raises a hand to stop Mary. “You see, Mrs. Mattias, my mother, the queen, wants me to attend a meeting a few minutes before the ball ends. So, please.” He pushes past a stunned Mary, trying not to laugh at her shock. It seems to be the first time in her life that Mary wasn’t getting her way.

Larry fastens his crow mask back on and leaves the ballroom, hoping that the cat hasn’t left the palace completely. He searches and searches every room, but finds nothing. Finally, Larry slumps against a wall, giving up.

Damn that Mary and her daughters. The one person Larry was  _ actually _ interested in getting to know, and they made him lose them.

Larry needed some air. He stands and walks down the halls until he gets to the balcony over the back garden. He pushes past the crimson red and opens the glass doors. His heart skips a beat when he sees who is already on the balcony.

  
  
  
  
  


Sal had the same idea to get some air. He found the balcony shortly after leaving the restroom. He had sat at the small table on the balcony for a while, then he started to hear the music from the ballroom just below him. 

He stood up and put his mask on, then started swaying to the music. Some of his favorite songs were played, and he knew the lyrics to most. He started singing to himself when he heard the balcony doors open.

Sal watched the crow freeze in his tracks, but Sal didn’t stop swaying. His heart left light, as did his feet. Like he was walking on air.

The cat holds a hand out to Larry, and Larry takes it quickly.

Sal sees the corners of the crow’s eyes wrinkle, indicating a big smile. Sal can’t help his own smile as the crow places his hands on Sal’s waist and they dance around the balcony.

Larry moves in rhythm with the cat’s soft hums, then hears that sweet voice sing the words. He couldn’t hear the music below, he could only hear the cat’s voice.

_ “My heart has wings… And I can fly. I’ll touch every star in the sky.”  _ Sal wraps his arms tighter around the crow’s neck.  _ “So this is the miracle that I’ve been dreaming of…” _

Larry lifts his crow mask to the top of his head, showing his entire face.

Sal was enchanted by the man’s face. He wasn’t too different from a crow, with a larger nose and deep-toned skin match that dark crow facade.

Larry places a thumb under the cat mask, pushing it upwards.

Sal doesn’t know why he let the man remove his mask. But he didn’t stop him.

Larry moved the mask until a pair of plump, pale pink lips were shown. The cat’s chin and cheeks were scarred, but Larry didn’t care. All he cared about were those lips…

Sal held still and took a deep breath. He is blinded by his mask covering his eyes. He expects the worst again when the crow stops removing the mask. He saw the scars, and now he’s no longer interested. Then, Sal feels pressure on the mask.

Larry leans down, his nose pressing against the mask. “...Can I kiss you?”

Sal gasps, taken by surprise by the request. “Y-yes…” Why did he say that? He does want to kiss him, but why did he say that?

Larry closes the space between them, kissing the kitty cat gently.

Sal feels the warm lips against his. It’s a feeling he’s never experienced, and it makes his face heat up.

“Come on!” Someone shouts from the garden below. “I want to get going! It’s almost midnight!”

Sal gasps and pushes the man away.

“What?” Larry panics, worried he crossed a line somewhere.

Sal fits his mask back down and looks out at the small clock tower in the palace garden.

It is 10 minutes until midnight.

“Oh, God.” Panic starts to settle in the pit of Sal’s stomach. He turns back to the crow. “I-I’m sorry. I have to leave!” Sal runs past him, into the palace.

“Wait!” Larry runs inside, chasing after the cat. “Wait!”

Sal darts down the halls, slipping and almost twisting his ankle in his heel, but doesn’t stop running. Sal manages to get to the ballroom and pushes past crowds of people.

Larry loses sight of the cat and searches desperately to find him. He catches a glimpse of a blue flash by a door and runs after it.

Sal runs down the hallways, trying the exit. To his luck, he finds it quickly. Sal bolts out the doors and runs down the stone path to the stables.

Gizmo bucks when he sees Sal, already with the carriage hooked onto him.

The butler from before, along with a stables worker, bring the horse and carriage out to the pathway.

Sal jumps in place, trying to get them to hurry. Then, to Sal’s horror, he sees three familiar faces coming towards the stables.

Mary angrily marches down the path while Jennifer and Adelaide bicker with each other.

“Uh, can we hurry, please?” Sal tries to politely edge the butler and stable worker to go quicker.

The women get closer, and closer… then fall. All three fall into a large puddle of mud that they swore wasn’t there a second ago. Conveniently, they miss a woman in a purple gown, swaying a long stick that shrinks to the size of her finger.

Sal only catches a glimpse of her. “Thank you.” He whispers as the palace staff gets his carriage in place.

Sal jumps into his carriage, and they take off.

Sal sees the Kingdom clock tower as they pass it.

3 minutes until midnight.

They won’t make it in time.

Sal moves to the window and shouts to Gizmo. “Go to the woods!”

Gizmo detours into the woods, away from anyone’s eyes.

Sal can see the mansion in the distance. They’re almost there. Just a little further…

The clock tower chimes. Three loud bongs sounding out.

A bright flash of light blinds Sal as he is thrown about. He screams as he hits the cold ground. The light fades and Sal feels pressure on his chest.

_ “Mrrow!” _

Sal opens his eyes to see Gizmo, a cat once again, licking at Sal’s face.

Sal sits up and finds an orange pumpkin between his legs. His mask has returned to it’s original, broken self with pieces scattering the ground. His blue gown has returned to the tattered and torn yellow dress.

Sal strokes Gizmo’s fur. “Giz… That was amazing!” He stands up and runs to the house. He gets to the attic and lays in his bed with Gizmo. “Gizmo, I danced with multiple people! And I met the most amazing man-,” He freezes, realization taking over. “...Who doesn’t know my name… I don’t know his name… And we’re never going to see each other again… Fuck.”

Sal changes into his pajamas and lays back down, cuddling Gizmo. “I’m never going to see him again…” A single tear slips down Sal’s face and he falls asleep with Gizmo purring in his arms.

  
  
  
  
  


“You!” Larry stops a maid in the hallway outside Lisa’s bedroom. “Did you see someone in a blue gown and a cat mask?”

Maid scratches her chin and thinks, then shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, I haven’t seen anyone like that.”

Larry sighs and knocks on his mother’s door.

“Come in.”

Larry enters. 

Lisa is in a nightgown, sitting at her vanity set, combing her hair. “Hi, Larry…” She sighs. “Let me guess, you haven’t found anyone you like tonight?”

Larry tosses the crow mask onto Lisa’s bed. He takes off his overcoat and sets it down with the mask. “Actually-,”

Lisa spins around in her chair with shock on her face at that single word.

Larry undoes his tie and pulls a chair over to Lisa and sits. “I did.”

Lisa breaks into a huge smile and jumps up. “Larry!” She grabs his arms and farces him up with her. “This is amazing! Oh, what’s their name?”

Larry’s face is sour, and it makes Lisa’s excitement fade fast. “I never got his name… He ran away before I could.”

Lisa sighs and rubs Larry’s shoulder. “Larry, I-,”

Larry huffs and walks away from his mother. He looks out the window to the people leaving the palace. “It’s not fair! I danced with this incredible person, and I didn’t even see his face! I-... I kissed him.”

“You  _ kissed  _ him?”

“And then he started to freak out!” Larry drops, face first, into Lisa’s bed and screams into a pillow. “Why did I kiss him!? It obviously freaked him out!”

Lisa sits on the edge of the bed and pats Larry’s back. “It’s okay, sweetie. I’m sure it wasn’t your fault.”

Larry lifts his head to see his mother. Tears start to stream down his face, ruining the make-up that hid his dark circles. “Then why did he leave?”

“Maybe he was shy?” Lisa tries to make her son feel better. “Maybe that was it. He was shy, and got overwhelmed.”

Larry takes a few deep breaths. “Yeah… But I’m gonna find him.” Larry gets up and goes to the door.

Lisa follows Larry. “What are you going to do?”

Larry thinks back to their dance on the balcony. “I have an idea…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me forever to write, and I still think I could have done a little better. But, I'm still proud of the final result!
> 
> Again, I'm writing two stories at a time, so updates are a little slow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Larry plans a way to find the stranger who enchanted him. And Sal makes a shocking discovery.
> 
> But how will this fairy tale romance end with a wicked fiend in the way?

Larry storms around the palace in search of every guard who was in charge of keeping tabs on the guest. He finds the guards who were letting the guests into the party. “Did anyone come in wearing a blue dress and a cat mask?”

The guard reads through a few pieces of paper that had the descriptions of people’s costumes with their names. The guard’s eyes widen, “Oh, no…”

“What?” Larry snatches the paper from the guard’s hand and scans through it quickly. His heart drops when he finds the description of the stranger, but the name is blank. “What happened!?”

“I don’t know, Sir…”

Larry slams the paper on the guard’s desk and storms out of the room. He was hoping that this would be easy, but now he has to go through with his original plan… That will require the whole Kingdom to get involved.

Lisa follows Larry through the palace. “What exactly is this plan that requires the whole Kingdom?”

“Well,” Larry stops walking and turns to his mother. “I didn’t see his whole face, but I saw a part of it. His eyes were weird like one was fogged over. His chin had scars… I need to find someone with blue hair and a scarred face.”

“Maybe don’t hold on to the blue hair bit.” Lisa rubs her chin. “Over half of the people were wearing wigs. Besides, Larry, what if multiple people in the Kingdom have scarred faces?” Lisa didn’t want to be a downer. This was the first time in years that Larry was showing a general interest in someone, and she was thrilled. But, she couldn’t help but question his plans to find this person. He will be devastated if he finds the wrong person.

Larry leans his back against the wall. “I have more to the plan…”

Lisa tilts her head. “Oh?”

Larry takes a deep breath, not wanting to speak the next words. “...We’re gonna need to have another public event…”

  
  
  
  
  


Sal pours juice into Jennifer and Adelaide’s glasses then sits back down to finish his dry toast.

“You know, Sally Face,” Jennifer smirks at him. “Addy and I met the prince last night!”

“Cool.” Sal honestly couldn’t care less about the royal family.

“He was  _ very  _ handsome!” Adelaide adds in. “He said Jen and I were beautiful!”

Sal seriously doubts that.

“We even got to dance with him!”

Sal was in the ballroom for a good portion of the party and never saw the prince. How did they dance with him so quickly? “That’s great.” Sal chugs some water to wash down his toast.

“Girls! Girls!  _ Girls!” _ Mary runs into the dining room with an envelope in hand. “Girls, look at this!” She holds it out to them to show the envelope is from the royal palace.

“Oh, my God!” The twins jump up to their mother.

“I was chosen!” Jennifer shrieks.

“What are you talking about? I was chosen!” Adelaide whacks her sister in the head.

Jennifer slaps Adelaide in the face and the girls wrestle each other to the floor.

“Girls! Girls, please!” Mary breaks her daughters apart.

Sal rolls his eyes and goes to the kitchen to clean. He gets the leftover scraps of meat and hides them under the sink. He plans to feed Gizmo in his attic later. Sal shortly returns to the dining room to collect the plates and finds Mary and the girls in shock. 

“Wait, what?” Jennifer looks back and forth between her sister and mother. “It-it’s not a marriage proposal?”

“No…” Mary turns the letter over in her hands. It’s not a marriage proposal, but Sal can see the excitement in Mary’s face, telling him it’s just as great. Mary reads the letter out loud,  _ “His Royal Highness, Lawrence Johnson, has invited you to the Royal Palace for a night of entertainment. The party shall be held tonight. No dress code. All attendees shall be given a chance to perform on stage if desired.”  _ She doesn’t finish the rest of the letter. “PERFORM ON STAGE!?”

“I will get to sing for the Prince!?” Adelaide shrieks.

Sal rolls his eyes again and takes the plates back to the kitchen. “That fucking prince sounds like he just wants free entertainment.”

After a while, Sal had gone outside to water the flower beds. He is bent over a bed of lavenders when a bluebird lands on the edge of the box. “Hello there,” Sal waves at the bird. He watches the bird take off flying again and land on the shoulder of a familiar person. “Ashley!”

Ashley, back in her ratty, dirty form, sits on the edge of the garden fence with the bluebird on her shoulder. She gives Sal a big, yellow smile. “Hello!”

Sal runs over to her. “Thank you so much for last night!”

“You’re welcome.” Ashley shifts her shoulder so that the bird flutters down to rest in the palm of her hand. “Did you hear about the party tonight?”

“Yes,” Sal hops up to rest on the fence. “But I’m not going to this one.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just for the Prince to find a wife, anyhow.” Sal pauses. He knows Ashley was there last night. Is there any chance she could help him get to the stranger? “Ashley can I-,”

“Wanna go for a walk?” Ashley cuts him off.

“Wha- A walk?”

“Yeah.” Ashley smiles and nods. “I wanna talk to you about someone. I saw those horrible women leave, so you can come with me.” She hops off the fence, and the bluebird flies away. She walks over to the garden gate and opens it for Sal. “Come in, let’s go!”

“O-Okay!” Sal hurries after her.

The two walk down the street, getting a few glares from fancier dressed people. But once they were further away from the mansion, people were getting just as dirty as the two were.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Sal broke the somewhat awkward silence.

“Oh!” Ashley seems to have forgotten that Sal was even there. “I just wanted to show you the artwork I was asked to do. I know you come from a family who appreciated fine art, so I thought you could give me some honest feedback!”

Sal clears his throat. “Um, actually, I was never really into art.”

“That’s fine!” Ashley wraps an arm around Sal. “You can still give me an honest rating!”

They turn the corner and approach a small hut on the street corner. Ashley swings the door open and stretches her arms out. “Welcome to my home!” The inside was spick and span. It’s clean, no dust in sight. It definitely doesn’t seem like a place Ashley would live, is Sal didn’t know the truth about her.

Ashley leads Sal to a few art easels. “You see, Sal, I’m being paid to do a few portraits for the palace.”

Sal nods his head. “That’s cool. You must be getting paid a lot then.”

“Oh, yeah!” Ashley turns around an easel to show a portrait of a brown-haired woman. “This is the one of Queen Lisa.” She displays it proudly.

Sal examines the portrait closely. It looks great, Ashley has a real talent for painting… But the Queen looks strange to Sal. Like he’s seen her before, despite never having seen anyone in the royal family in his life. “It looks amazing, Ashley! I wish I could say more, but I don’t even know what the Queen looks like!” He laughs.

Ashley giggles and sets her easel back. “So, do you know the truth about this party that the Prince is throwing~?” Her voice is laced with mischief. Sal can tell she’s up to something, but he doesn’t know what.

“He’s just trying to get free entertainment by having the Kingdom perform for him?” That was Sal’s only guess, and he’s pretty sure he’s right.

“Ha! No!” Ashley starts to pull back another easel. “He met someone at the masquerade last night. This is all an elaborate scheme to find them!” She sets the easel in front of Sal with the portrait facing away.

Sal tilts his head. “How is he gonna find them with this party?”

“He didn’t see their face, or get their name, but he heard them sing.” Ashley smiles mischievously. “He’s gonna try to find the person with a matching voice.”

Sal starts to realize where she is going with all of this. He thinks back to the balcony, singing and dancing with the crow… He couldn’t have been…?

“Now, I’m not too sure how much I like the portrait I did of the Prince.” She turns the easel around with a wicked smile.

Sal sucks in his breath to keep from gasping. His heart flutters to his throat and his stomach is filled with butterflies. 

Long, kinky brown hair. Dark eyes like pools of chocolate. Sal steps closer to it. A long nose that matched that of his crow mask. He has a mole under his right eye that Sal hadn’t noticed that night, having been so transfixed on those dark eyes. 

The Prince looks bored in the painting, but Sal can remember those eyes being filled with so much happiness while they danced…

“So, what do you think?” Ashley walks behind Sal and puts her hands on his shoulders.

Sal stands fixated on the portrait. He’s speechless… “He-he…” He wants to reach out and stroke that tan skin. Feel his warm lips on his own. “He’s looking for me?” It comes out like a question, but Sal knows the answer. “He’s looking for  _ me… _ ”

Ashley rubs Sal’s shoulders. “The party is tonight and everyone will be made to sing,  _ with  _ their faces shown. So the Prince can see those who have scarring on their faces.”

Sal turns around and grabs Ashley’s shoulders. “He’s looking for me!”

Ashley laughs and swings Sal around to the front door. “I’m the one with the magic here, yet you seem to enchant a man into falling in love in a single night!  _ That  _ is magical!”

Sal can feel his face heat up. All morning, all he could think about was that stranger. Now, he knows he’s looking for him. He now knows that he made  _ the Prince  _ fall in love with him. 

“Go on!” Ashley starts to push Sal to the door. “There may not be a dress code, but you should still look nice for your prince!”

“My  _ prince. _ ” Sal smiles wide as he exits Ashley’s hut. “You- you aren’t gonna help me?”

Ashley smiles at Sal. “You made that man fall in love on your own. No Ashley help required.” She ruffles his hair and turns back to her hut. “But I will keep an eye out for you! Don’t worry!” She winks back at Sal and closes her door.

Sal runs full speed back to the mansion. He can’t stop smiling. He made a  _ prince  _ fall in love with him. No, a  _ king  _ has fallen for him. Sal himself was smitten by the man, but he never expected this to happen.

He could leave the evilness that is Mary behind. Live in the palace, happy with Lawrence, and start his life over again.  _ “My heart has wings!”  _ Sal sings as he runs, panting out of breath, but singing. “ _ And I can fly! I’ll touch every star in the sky! So this is the miracle I’ve been dreaming of!”  _ Sal gets back to the mansion and finds no signs of ladies having returned.

Sal runs up to the attic and starts getting ready for tonight. His Prince is waiting for him, so he has to look perfect.

  
  
  
  
  


A beautiful blue gown sweeps across the ground as the cat dances around the balcony. The stars shine bright behind him, shining off his blue hair.

Larry reaches out for him, needing to feel the soft skin under his fingertips. He craves the feeling of those lips against his. The dent from a scar across those pink lips… but they’ve hidden away under a mask. 

Larry finally gets to him. His arms feel cold, but his skin is so soft… Larry needs more of him. The dress is stunning, but Larry desires nothing more than to rip it off. Expose every inch of his beautiful body. Larry can only imagine how gorgeous he is… He  _ knows _ that the cat is beautiful.

The small, delicate figure moves along with Larry as they dance around the balcony. Larry wants to kiss him so bad… Heated desires turn in Larry’s stomach, burning out of control.

_ If he can only lose control, just once… _

“Your Highness!”

Larry bolts up-right. A pen sticks to his face and falls off.

“Your Highness, you fell asleep again.” A maid shakes Larry’s shoulder to wake him up.

Larry downs at his pants and quickly scoots in closer to his desk to hide the bulge that formed in his front. “Thank you, you may go now.” 

The maid leaves, and Larry is left with his thoughts of the cat. Who knew that you could become so hot for someone you never even saw the face of.

It takes Larry a longer amount of time than usual to finish his papers, having to fix his ‘problem’ as well. But everything he did made him think of the cat. As he cleared off his desk, he could imagine the smaller man splayed out in front of him or bent over the desk… Larry shakes his head and leaves his office. The party is in an hour, and he needs to be more awake if he’s going to find him.

Larry goes to the kitchen and finds his friend. “Chug,”

Chug measures some flour and throws it into a bowl. “Hey,” He hands the bowl off to another chef who adds some spices. Chug leans forward on the counter and smiles at Larry. “Coffee or wine?”

Larry smirks. “Am I that predictable?”

“Kinda.” Chug turns his back to Larry. “But I’m guessing it’s coffee for now. Considering another party is tonight.”

Larry leans on the counter and watches as Chug heats water for coffee. “I’m actually not drinking tonight.”

Chug turns to Larry with an eyebrow raised. “You’re not?”

Larry shakes his. Though, he stops and thinks for a moment. “Chug, if you see me walking off with someone, maybe with a scarred face and blue hair-,”

Chug smirks at Larry. Larry had already told him all about his mystery stranger. “Uh-huh?”

Larry tries to hide a smile. “Make a pot of that rose tea you made for the masquerade, and send it to my room, with a bottle of champagne… and those chocolate fruits that you make.”

Chug laughs and pours the hot water over a filter with grounded coffee beans. “If I see you alone, I’m still sending that stuff to your room.”

“I’ll have my own, sorrow fueled party.”

  
  
  
  
  


Sal brushes his hair smooth and does two braids. He had found the best outfit he could, but it’s only a white shirt and black skirt that reaches his knees. He puts on his mother’s pearl necklace and stands up, doing a twirl in his mirror. “Gizmo!”

The orange cat was outside. Sal had forgotten to let him in. “Oh, right.” He starts walking to the door and bumps in with evil.

Mary crosses her arms and stares down at Sal in disgust. “What do you think you’re doing dressed like that?”

Sal places his hands on his hips. Mary doesn’t scare him anymore. “I’m going out.”

“Where to, dear?” She only calls him that when she’s trying to make him uncomfortable.

“I’m going to… the bakery. See, Maple wants to see me.” He lies to Mary. “She said to dress nice… So I am.” He was confident in his lie. But Mary looks unamused.

“That’s… Nice of her to let you visit.” Sal can feel the venom roll off of Mary’s tongue as she speaks. “But why would she need you to dress up?”

“I don’t know. She said it was a surprise.” Sal crosses his arms. “Now, if you’ll excuse me-,” He runs a hand through his hair, forgetting his braid. “Damn it…” He turns back and goes to his mirror to fix his now destroyed braid.

“Well, I must say, you look nice, Sal,” Mary says sweetly.

But it feels wrong. Sal’s stomach turns and the hairs on his neck stand up. He turns around to Mary, “What-?” But he sees the door close and hears a  **_click_ ** . “No…” Sal gets up and walks to the door. He turns the handle but it doesn’t budge. “NO!” He twists the handle as hard as he can, but it stays still. Sal pounds his fists on the door. “LET ME OUT!”

He runs to the window leading out to the town, but this one doesn’t open. He can’t call for help, no one will hear him. But he still beats his fist against the glass. “HELP ME!” The glass doesn’t break. 

A carriage pulls out from the side of the mansion, and Sal watches as Mary and her daughters ride away.

“NO!” Sal runs over to his other window. He throws it open, but there is no way down. Only some sort of animal can get down with the tree by the window, but Sal will only harm himself in trying. “HELP MEEEE!” He screams out, but no one will hear him. The mansion is too far from the town for people to hear.

He’s trapped.

Sal runs back to the door and tries to break the knob off. Once again, it doesn’t budge. “SOMEONE HELP ME!” He cries out and pounds on the door. Sal slides down the door, tears streaming down his face. His Prince is waiting for him… “Someone please…”

For the first time in his life, Sal had a chance to escape the hatred, the evilness, the pain… He could be happy again. He could dance and sing when he wanted, and wear the clothes he wanted. He could eat an actual meal, not table scraps. Gizmo could keep him warm in bed without the fear of being thrown out… Larry could keep him warm in bed…

He could have been happy again… He could have been Sal Fisher again. Leave Sally Face in the past…

Now, that chance is gone…

“Someone…” Sal cries against the door, fruitlessly twisting at the knob. He knows no one can hear him…

But yellow eyes shine bright in the darkness of the garden. Gizmo heard those cries. The orange cat jumps over the garden fence and takes off into the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go kick some ass, Gizmo!!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party is in full swing, and Larry is trying to find the stranger.
> 
> Can Sal get to him in time?

People walking the streets jump to the side as large, orange cat bolts by. Gizmo dodges people’s feet, wagon wheels, and vendor stands. He’s an orange blur to people’s eyes as he tries to find a familiar face to help him.

The girl who delivers the bread every weekend. She feeds scraps to Gizmo every time they cross paths. 

Gizmo leaps over puddles and dodges horse hooves. He has to find that girl to save Sal.

  
  
  
  
  


“They’re all women so far.” Larry looks down at the ballroom from the stairs. All the guests lined by the stage, hoping to win over the Prince with their talents, seem to all be women.

Chug pats Larry’s shoulder. “If this cat wore a dress at the masquerade, who’s to say he won’t be dressed up tonight?”

Larry nods, not wanting to lose hope yet. “You’re right, you’re right… I need a drink.” Larry goes down the stairs, heading straight for the wine table.

  
  
  
  
  


“Maple!” Neil sets two meat pies on the counter. “These are for pick-up!”

Maple gets the pies and wraps them in red cloth.

“So,” Neil leans over the counter. “I’m guessing you’re not hanging out with Chug tonight?”

“Nah. We’ve both got work.” Maple says sadly.

“This party at the palace was sure sudden.” Neil grabs a rag from the counter and wipes flour from his hands. “It’s a shame. Chug loves these meat pies, too.”

Maple nods her head, disappointed that she doesn’t get to spend any time with Chug tonight. She brings the wrapped up pies to the pick-up table and hears nails scratching against the glass windows. She looks up and sees a familiar orange cat outside. Maple looks over her shoulder to make sure no ones looking then runs outside. “Hey, you!” She squats down and the cat comes running to her, meowing like crazy. “You seem to always find me, huh?”

Gizmo turns around and sticks his nose in the opposite direction. He looks back at Maple and meows loudly.

“What’s wrong?” Maple stands up and steps closer to the cat. 

Gizmo steps in the other direction and meows back again.

“Oh!” Maple is hit with a realization. “You want me to follow you!”

Gizmo takes off down the street with Maple following behind him. “Wait! Slow down!” Maple almost trips a few times, trying to keep up with the feline. Gizmo’s speed is starting to worry her. Something is wrong…

  
  
  
  
  


Larry watches and listens to several people perform on the stage. The crowd cheers and applauds them, but he’s yet to hear the same voice that has been haunting him in his sleep. To make matters worse, he has to interact with people. He needs to see everyone up close to find someone with scars.

After a while with no signs of the cat stranger, Larry sneaks upstairs and watches the party from above. He swishes white wine around in his glass as he watches people dance to the performers. He promised himself that he wouldn’t drink to find the cat, but he’s starting to lose hope…

“Ah, fuck…” Larry rolls his eyes as one of those twin girls steps on the stage. The other twin had already performed, and while she was good, Larry knows neither of them is his stranger. He spots their mother, (What was her name? Mary?) walking around the ballroom. She seems to be searching for someone.

“Where is he?” Mary starts to panic. The Prince had only heard Jennifer perform. Now that it was Adelaide’s time, he seems to have just vanished. Mary checks every corner of the ballroom to find the Prince. She’ll be damned to hell if not one of her daughters charms him tonight… And the grace of God, she spots him. Way up above them, with his head hanging over the railing upstairs.

Mary runs upstairs to get to the Prince. She wants this palace more than anything, and she  _ will  _ have it. That fucking Prince  _ will  _ marry one of her daughters. “Your Highness-!” But by the time she gets to where he was, the damn man is gone.

Larry caught sight of Mary coming at him and snuck away again. “What’s with this bitch?” Larry drains his wine glass, not even paying attention to the twin on stage.

  
  
  
  
  


Maple follows the cat to a mansion at the edge of the forest. “What are we doing here?” She asks the cat. She knows this place, and not because she delivers here. She knew the Fisher’s personally.

Gizmo runs to the front door and scratches at it.

“I don’t think I should be going in there…” She steps up to the door. She goes to knock, but the doors swing open. Almost like magic…

Gizmo runs down the hallway, meowing back at Maple to follow him.

“What!?” Maple is still confused as to how the doors opened on their own.

Up in the attic, Sal was crying against the locked door. He hears something going on downstairs.

_ “Hey! Come back!” _

Is that Maple? “MAPLE!” Sal pounds his fists on the door.

Maple walked halfway into the mansion when she heard the noise from upstairs. “Who is that?”

“HELP ME!” 

Gizmo darts up the stairs and Malpe follows him. “I’m coming!” She hikes up the skirt of her dress and runs as fast as she can to the pounding. She and Gizmo get to the attic door. “Who’s in there!?”

“Maple, it’s me!” Sal shakes at the doorknob. “I’m locked in! Please, help me!”

Malpe twists the knob in her hands, but it doesn’t budge. “How did you get locked in!?”

“Mary! She’s fucking evil! She locked me in so I can’t get away from here!”

Maple always got a bad vibe from Mary and her daughters… She scans the hallway and her eyes land on a small table with a vase of flowers sitting on top. “Hold on, Sal!” She runs to the table and sets the vase on the floor. “I have a trick for unlocking doors! STAND BACK!”

Sal jumps away from the door. He hears Maple shout, then a crash, and the knob falls off of the door. “Maple!” Sal runs over and swings the door open. The small table that sat in the corner is now broken at Maple’s feet. Sal jumps at her and hugs her neck. “Maple, thank you!”

Maple laughs and hugs Sal. “You’re welcome! This cat led me here!” She points down to the orange cat that rubs up against Sal’s legs. “I’m guessing he’s your cat then?”

“Gizmo!” Sal picks up his cat. “Gizmo, you lifesaver!” Sal hugs Gizmo close. “Oh, my God, I have to leave!” Sal runs, with Gizmo in his arms, down the stairs.

Maple runs after them. “Wait! Where are you gonna go?”

“I-I have to get to the palace!” Sal turns back to Maple. “Someone’s waiting for me there…”

“Well, you’re sure as hell not gonna get there on foot.” Maple marches past Sal and out the door. “If we get to my house, I can borrow my sister’s carriage… Or we could use that one?”

Sal steps past Maple to see a blue, pumpkin-shaped carriage with a white horse mounted to it. Sal smiles and walks down to the carriage. “Thanks, Ash.” Though he’ll have to question why she didn’t help him in the first place later. Right now, he has a party to attend.

  
  
  
  
  


Larry locks the restroom door behind him and slides his back down it. He feels like he’s going to break… His mind keeps going back to the balcony. The moonlight shining off of milky white skin, looking soft to the touch. He wants to touch his skin so bad… Larry bolts up and runs to the toilet, hunching over it and throwing up… He’s had enough to drink for tonight.

Larry drunkenly stumbles out of the bathroom and gets caught by a random staff palace staff member. “Your Highness? It’s almost ten. Should the guest be leaving anytime soon?”

Larry feels a sting in his heart. He didn’t find him tonight… “Yeah… Sure… Close the doors whenever I don’t care…” Larry walks past the staff member and goes to his room. He needs to think of a new plan, but he’s not sober enough to do it right now.

Meanwhile, in the ballroom, Jennifer and Adelaide storm around, trying to find the Prince. “Where is he?” They meet in the middle and Adelaide hits Jennifer’s arm.

“Don’t hit me!” Jennifer hits Adelaide’s shoulder and the two start to fight in the middle of the ballroom.

Guests watch them in shock and disgust as the two wrestle each other to the ground.

Mary spots her daughters and runs to break them up. “Girls, please! You are embarrassing your mother!”

The girls continue to scream and fight, pulling their mother down with them.

“AH-!” Mary doubles over the girls and hits the floor.

  
  
  
  
  


The carriage almost flies down the streets as the white horse runs at a great speed. Inside the carriage, Gizmo sinks his claws into the seats to keep himself in place.

Sal stares anxiously out the window until the palace finally comes into view. “We’re almost there!” He’s going to make it.

But as they get closer, carriages pass them, going the opposite direction.  _ They’re leaving the palace. _

“Hurry!” Sal shouts out to the horse. The party can’t be over yet, can it?

The horse and carriage come to a screeching halt just at the stone path of the palace.

Sal jumps out, followed by a shaken Gizmo, and runs down the path. Halfway down the path, a butler stops Sal.

“I’m sorry, the party is over. No one is allowed in the palace.”

“No, no, no, you don’t understand!” Sal shakes the butler by his arms. “I-I-I need to find someone!”

“Were you here earlier with a friend?” The butler asks.

Sal has to lie to get inside. He spots a certain carriage still parked and points to it. “That’s Marry Mattias’ carriage! She and her daughters are still here! Please, tell her that her stepson needs her! It’s an emergency!”

“Okay, okay! Please calm down!” The butler tries to calm Sal. “Please, wait here. I will retrieve Mrs. Mattias.” The butler turns away and walks to the palace.

Once the butler disappears behind the doors, Sal makes a break for it. He runs around the corner to the back garden and finds the door leading to the ballroom still open. He runs inside, but the stage is being packed up. “No, no, no, no!” Sal runs to the stage. “Where is he?” He barely whispers.

Sal runs past more party guests, “Where is he!?” 

A drunken woman shoves past Sal. “Watch it!” She barks at him.

Sal flinches and shrinks in on himself at the woman’s aggressiveness. “I’m sorry…” Out of the corner of Sal’s eye, he sees the ballroom door open, and the butler from before enters. He quickly runs to the garden before he is spotted.

Sal gets outside and collapses in the grass. He’s too late… He’s never going to find Larry in the huge palace without being caught. Will Larry still be looking for him? Or did he find someone else tonight? Sal doesn’t even notice he had started crying until the teardrops landed on his skirt.

Gizmo comes up next to Sal and rubs his head against his shoulder.

Sal sniffs and pats Gizmo’s head. “I guess that’s just my luck…” Sal hears footsteps up above… On the balcony that he danced with Larry on the night before. Sal stands up and sneaks away, trying to not be seen. But he catches a glimpse of the man sitting at that small table…

Larry folds his arms on the table and drops his head down. He had chugged a cup of coffee to get some level of sobriety in him, but while sitting alone in his room, all he wanted to do was drown himself in a bottle of wine.

“Fuck…” He needs a new plan. He doesn’t want to give up on the cat… He’ll be forced into an arranged marriage if he doesn’t find someone  _ soon. _ Larry sits up and runs his hands down his face. He feels it, deep down in his body, that that blue-haired beauty is his meant-to-be. The one he’s supposed to be with… He can’t give up just yet.

Sal hides in a bush with Gizmo, staring up at the balcony.

_ It’s him. _

What is he supposed to do? He can’t just leave. He needs to get Larry’s attention. Let him know that he’s there for him.

Gizmo jumps out of Sal’s arms and trots to the center of the garden.

“No!.” Sal hurries after him without thinking.

Larry looks down below, catching sight of a short, blue-haired person running after an orange cat in the garden. “Hello?” He stands up and leans over the balcony railing.

Sal freezes. He has his back turned to him, but he can feel the eyes on the back of his neck.

Larry leans forward more, trying to get a better look at them… It can’t be... Can it? “Who are you?”

Sal takes a deep breath and turns around slowly. He looks up at Larry and gets a shocked look from him.

Larry’s heart skips a beat. He can see the mismatched eyes up here. One sky blue, and the other a glassed-over grey. The stranger’s face is covered with scars and dents that Larry can still see with the moonlight shining down on him… He’s just as beautiful as Larry thought he’d be.

The blue-haired man says something, but Larry can’t hear him.

Larry leans down more, “What was that?”

He speaks up, “My name is Sal Fisher…” His confidence has faded. He feels too vulnerable.

Larry grips the balcony railing until his knuckles turn white.  _ It is him. It has to be him. _ There is just one thing that can prove it to Larry. “Wait there, okay? I’m gonna-,”

The railing bends forward suddenly, and Larry shouts as he falls to the ground below.

Larry hits the ground with a  _ thud, _ but he doesn’t feel much pain, nor is he injured.

“Oh, my God!” Sal runs to him and kneels. “Are you okay!?”

“I’m fine!” Larry looks up at Sal. “I’m fine…”

A woman watches them from the window above the balcony. “You’re welcome, gentlemen~,” Ashley chirps quietly to herself. She waves her wand high and sparkles rain down on the garden.

The garden lights suddenly flick on, and the flowers that were once closed bloom into life.

Larry looks down at Sal… His chin and cheeks have perfectly matched scars to the cat. His full lips are the same pale pink too. Larry knows just who Sal Fisher is already, but he just needs that last bit of confirmation… He hesitantly takes Sal’s hands. “You’re… You’re the cat… Uh, I mean, I danced with you on the balcony at the masquerade.”

Sal nods his head. “Can I tell you something?”

Larry raises an eyebrow.

“...I didn’t know you were the prince at the time…” 

Larry’s face is blank, unreadable to Sal. Then he bursts out laughing.

“Wh-what’s so funny?” Sal is thrown off by the laughter.

“You!” Larry swings Sal around to face the entrance to the ballroom. “I know you had no idea who I was! You weren’t trying to get the prince to fall for you! You were just dancing with people!” He swings Sal back towards the garden, causing the smaller man to grip onto Larry’s shoulders in fear of being dropped. Larry places Sal on the ground. “You were just… Dancing with a stranger on a palace balcony!  _ Singing  _ to a stranger on a palace balcony!”

Sal giggles as he’s lifted again and spun around. He felt... Light. Like he would never touch the ground again. He’s in the clouds, near the stars. Nothing bad can reach him from this height.

Larry gently places Sal down. He looks down into those eyes again… “You sang to me.” He cups Sal’s face.

Sal heats up, knowing fully well that his face is turning pink under Larry’s hands.

“You sang with a voice that haunted my dreams all night…” Larry leans in closer to Sal, closing the space between their bodies. “You have no idea how you’ve haunted me…” 

Sal’s eyes droop close as he feels those warm lips touch him. Larry kisses him so sweetly and tenderly. Sal’s filled with a blissful sensation that he’s never felt before. To know that he won’t lose him this time…

Larry doesn’t want to pull away, but he needs to catch his breath. He pulls back and looks down at the beautiful, scarred face. 

Sal moves his hands up Larry’s body and grabs his shoulders. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”

Larry glances back at the door. “We still face a ballroom… All to ourselves…”

Sal grabs Larry’s hand and runs to the ballroom.

Larry isn’t used to people controlling him in anything, but Sal leading the way felt exciting.

In the ballroom, now empty of anyone, Sal takes both of Larry’s hands and spins them around. “ _ My heart has wings,”  _ Sal sings out as he stops the spin.

Larry’s heart skips another beat as he hears that voice that haunted him. The song that he couldn’t get out of his head.

_ “And I can fly.”  _ Sal grips Larry’s shoulders and holds him close.  _ “I’ll touch every star in the sky.” _

__ Larry wraps his arms around Sal’s waist and finishes the song with him.  _ “So this is the miracle I’ve been dreaming of.” _ Larry leans closer to Sal’s face, pressing their noses together.

_ “So this is love…” _ Sal hums as he presses his lips to Larry’s.

At this moment alone, Larry feels like a king. Sal gives him a sense of power that he’s never felt before.

And Sal feels lighter than air. Like nothing will ever hurt him again… This is his fairy tale. His happily ever after.

  
This is where Sally Face gets left behind. Sal can leave that pain behind him, and be Sal Fisher again… Actually,  _ “Sal Fisher, husband of the King,”  _ is a much cooler title.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a bit of an "epilogue" type-thing after this, then I'm onto the next story.
> 
> Heads up: there will be smut.


	6. Epilogue

Sunlight shines through the window, covering the master bedroom in a warm hue.

Sal rolls over and drapes an arm over Larry’s shoulders. He had been awake for a while, just watching Larry soundly sleep. Sal leans in a bit and kisses Larry’s nose, earning a soft hum from the sleepy man. Sal grins and giggles and rubs Larry’s back.

Larry barely opens his eyes and scoots closer to Sal. “Good morning.” He mumbles.

“Good morning, Your Majesty~,”

Oh, right. Larry was crowned yesterday. He’s the King now… And a huge party was thrown for him that lasted until 2 in the morning. Which is why Larry’s so tired now.

Sal gets his fingers tangled in Larry’s mess of hair while trying to smooth it out. He instead decides to scratch Larry’s head like a dog, which makes the older man almost moan. Sal giggles, “Didn’t expect you to like that.”

“I don’t.” Larry rolls onto his back and rubs the sleep from his eyes. He drops his hands to rest on either side of his head. “Do I have to get out of bed?”

“I don’t think you have anything to do today?” Sal sits up and looks down at Larry. “You’ll have to check in with a supervisor to make sure.”

Larry closes his eyes and presses his face into his pillow. “So tired…”

Sal smirks and pulls back the blankets. He crawls over Larry and sits on his hips, straddling his waist. He bends down and kisses Larry gently.

Larry smiles into the kiss and opens his eyes when Sal pulls away. “Okay, I’ll get up.”

Sal giggles and arches his back a bit, grinding down on Larry’s crotch. “Maybe you don’t have to get up right now~?” He grinds a bit harder to get a reaction from Larry.

A moan catches in Larry’s throat. He laughs and grabs Sal’s hips. “Naughty boy~.” He whispers.

Sal catches Larry’s lips again, this time slipping his tongue. He feels Larry get hard against his hips and finally gets a proper moan from him. 

Larry reaches up and tangles his hand in Sal’s hair. Sal pulls away from the kiss to let him breathe. “Fuck…” Larry grinds his hips up to get friction with Sal. “Come on, don’t leave me hanging~.”

Sal hums and narrows his eyes. “I could be really mean right now and just leave you.”

Larry’s eyes widened a bit in worry. “Please don’t do that-,” He’s cut off when Sal grinds on his dick again. 

Sal’s breathing gets heavier as he dry-humps Larry, and to Larry, it’s the hottest thing. Sal gets pulled down into another kiss and moans into it.

Larry grabs Sal’s ass and squeezes it, trying to get more of a reaction from him. But Sal sits back and grabs Larry’s hands, pinning them to the bed frame.

Sal holds Larry’s hands in place and picks up his pace. He humps on Larry’s dick faster, earning a string of moans and curses from him.

Larry’s hands shake a bit and his legs curl up a bit as he cums. He feels… Uncomfortable. His pants are wet and sticky now, but Sal keeps grinding down on him until he finishes.

Sal cums quickly after, shaking and losing hold of Larry’s hands.

Larry grabs Sal’s waist and steadies him. “Thanks for the wake-up.” He pants a bit and Sal laughs.

“You’re welcome.” Sal bends down and kisses Larry. “Let’s get cleaned up.”

  
  
  
  
  


Larry walks through the garden with Sal in hand. The early morning hue reflects off of Sal, casting him in an orange glow. He’s so damn beautiful.

Larry leads them to the garden veranda and pulls out a chair for Sal.

“Thank you,” Sal sits down and Larry pushes him to the table.

Larry takes the chair on the other side of the table and brings it closer to Sal. He sits down and takes Sal’s hand. “So, you said you wanted some of that vanilla cake from the bakery, right?” Larry smirks.

Sal nods. “Do we have a delivery today?” He can’t help but laughs when he thinks about it. Mary, the woman who tried so hard to get Larry to marry one of her bratty daughters, now works as a delivery woman for the bakery.

The first thing Larry did after his and Sal’s wedding, was give Sal back his family’s fortune and mansion. Mary, Adelaide, and Jennifer were kicked out, forced to get actual jobs as they can no longer live on Henry’s money.

But now, living in the palace with all the money he needs, Sal gave it all away. He had offered it all to Ashley, as a thank you. Plus, it would be a nice upgrade from her little hut. But, Ashley refused.

She said she didn’t need nice things to be happy, and she can get it with magic anyway.

So, as a thank you for saving him the night of the second party, Sal gave it all to Maple. She asked Chug to move with her, and Larry was quick to convince him to do so.

Sal swings his legs, the chairs being tall enough that his feet don’t touch the ground. His foot ends up kicking something soft and he quickly looks under the table. “Gizmo!”

The cat runs out from under the table and jumps into another chair.

Larry laughs at the cat. “He’s sure been gone for a while.”

“He’s probably been visiting Maple again…” Sal feels Larry pick up his hand and kiss it. His face turns a soft pink, loving when Larry does that.

“You know, we get the next week completely alone for our honeymoon~,” Larry leans closer to Sal and kisses his ear.

Sal giggles and hums. “You won’t let me leave the bedroom then, right?”

Larry pulls back and smirks at Sal. “On the night of the wedding, I didn’t let you leave the bedroom. Now, we’re actually leaving the Kingdom~,” He gets closer to Sal’s ear and whispers. “We’ll have dinner on the beach, under the stars~.”

Sal smiles and closes his eyes. He can’t be more excited about this beach week with Larry.

“We’ll have all your favorite food, and we’ll have champagne.” Larry sneaks a hand up Sal’s thigh and gets a quiet gasp from him. “If you get cold, I’ll hold you close and warm you up~.”

Sal hums and wraps an arm around Larry. “How do you manage to make everything sound sexy?”

Despite how much Larry struggled with finding love in the past, he is a very intimate, passionate, and devoted lover. He does have a knack for making Sal hot over simple things…

“Hey!”

Sal jerks away and Larry sits straight in his chair.

A white cat darts across the garden and hides under the veranda table. Gizmo jumps from his chair to get to the cat.

A maid comes running across the garden. “I’m so sorry! I don’t know how she got out of her cage!”

Sal pokes his head under the table and sees Gizmo cuddled up with the white cat. “Looks like someone got himself a girlfriend!”

The maid holds out a piece of bacon under the table and gets both cats to come to her. “Come on, good kitties!”

But the cats change direction and go under Sal’s legs. “Hey!” Sal tries to catch them. “Could you guys not make the lady’s job so hard?” And with that, Gizmo and his girl go running back to the palace.

“No!” The maid shrieks.

Larry laughs and pats the maid’s arm. “Don’t worry about it. They don’t make much of a mess anyway.”

The maid sighs and hurries back to the palace to finish her work.

Sal giggles and leans towards Larry. “I guess everyone’s falling in love here, huh?”

Larry smiles and tucks Sal’s hair back. “Good. Maybe Gizmo will want to stay with her instead of our room.”

“You want  _ more  _ alone time, huh?”

“Maybe~.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short and I'm not happy with it. But I haven't been able to write for a hot minute because of a hellish schedule with my birthday this week, and I wanted to finish this within the week.
> 
> Anyway, if you have some fairy tale ideas that you'd want mixed with Sally Face, tell me. I have a couple more ideas, but I'd like to see what others have! Who knows, maybe I'll do it!


End file.
